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ECHL Kalamazoo Wings

Second Period Surge Not Enough for Wings in Game Two

April 16, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Kalamazoo Wings News Release


Kalamazoo Wings vs. the South Carolina Stingrays
Kalamazoo Wings vs. the South Carolina Stingrays
(Kalamazoo Wings)

KALAMAZOO, MI - The Kalamazoo Wings showed resiliency after facing an early deficit, but were unable to close the gap on the South Carolina Stingrays, who skated to a 5-2 victory in game two of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Saturday at Wings Event Center.

Much like the night before, the Stingrays carried the majority of the offensive play throughout the opening period. Their tireless forecheck paid dividends in the form of a turnover, which was spun into a tic-tac-toe passing series that freed up Joe Devin at the left-wing faceoff dot. With an open goal, Devin sailed the puck into the cage and established an early advantage for South Carolina.

Minutes into the second period, the Stingrays were able to build upon their lead after an odd-man-rush down the ice. Carrying into the zone with a three-on-two rush, Nick D'Agostino fired a cross-rink feed to David Pacan, who found Caleb Herbert in the slot for the one-time tally.

The Stingrays continued to cruise in the second period and cashed in on their third unanswered goal in the middle stages. Wade Epp received the puck at the right point, where he released a long wrist shot that deflected off a Kalamazoo defensemen and past Joel Martin, giving the visitors a 3-0 edge.

Breaking through for their first strike of the night, the Wings took advantage of open ice while working on a four-on-four situation. Justin Kovacs connected on pass to Tanner Sorenson, who carried into an open area in front of the net and blasted a slap shot over the stick-side of Mark Dekanich.

Climbing back to within one, the Wings struck again during the four-on-four scenario, just 1:06 later. Sacha Guimond walked down the slot untouched, and rolled a soft backhander towards Dekanich that had enough steam to leak through the netminder's pads and trickle over the line.

Snapping the Wings' momentum early in the third, the Stingrays pushed their lead to 4-2 with some crafty stickhandling by Brett Cameron. The South Carolina forward snuck from the corner and into the slot, where he patiently waited to pull Martin out of position, freeing up the top corner of the goal to deposit a backhander.

Regaining their three goal and pulling away in the middle of the third, South Carolina continued to pour on the pressure. Cameron flew into the zone, used a toe drag to dangle around the Kalamazoo defense, and slipped the puck through Martin. The tally ended the scoring for the night, and boosted the Stingrays to a 2-0 series lead.

Next: Kalamazoo vs. South Carolina, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Game three- Monday, April 18, 7:00 p.m., Wings Event Center

Notes: Both teams went 0/4 with the man advantage. Martin made 29 saves on 34 shots, while Dekanich made 20 saves on 22 shots. Kalamazoo's streak of eight straight games with the first goal was ended. South Carolina are unbeaten in regulation in their last 18 games.

Stats: http://echl.com/stats/official-game-report.php?game_id=13735

Listen to all 72 regular season and post season games on AM 1660 The Fan in Kalamazoo, or online at www.1660thefan.com/listen-live. Live coverage begins fifteen minutes before puck drop with the Flame Tamer Pregame Show.

Single-game playoff tickets are now on sale! Tickets can be purchased at kwings.com or at the Wings Event Center box office. Box office hours are Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. A $2 discount is applied on all tickets purchased before the date of the game. Any student that shows a valid ID can get tickets for just $11.

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Kalamazoo Wings vs. the South Carolina Stingrays
Kalamazoo Wings vs. the South Carolina Stingrays
   



ECHL Stories from April 16, 2016


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